A Change of Pace
by Ms. Informed
Summary: What if Finland and Sweden hadn't been kicked out of the Americas? What if, instead of telling France and England about America, Sweden and Finland raised him as their own child?
1. Chapter 1

Challenge: What if Finland and Sweden hadn't been kicked out of the Americas? What if, instead of telling France and England about America, Sweden and Finland raised him as their own child? Must be UsXUK and must include Canada. If Canada is in a pairing, it must be FranceXCanada or PrussiaXCanada. Other side pairings are okay, except FRUK (FranceXEngland) or Americest (AmericaXCanada). That is not allowed in this fic. No other specifications.

_This will probably just be little interconnected one-shots, so maybe an update every week or two?_

December

"Th't k'd 's h'r 'g'n, w'fe…," Sweden mumbled to Finland from his chair by the window.

"O-oh, again? I should go out there and try to warn him about Holland, shouldn't I?" Finland replied, mumbling under his breath about how he was a MALE and therefore not a WIFE. He stood and walked over to the coat rack, slipping on his warm red cape and black snow boots.

"'ll g' w't ya," Sweden rose out of his chair, only to be pushed back down by a frantic Finland.

"No, stay here, I'm sure I'll be able to handle this quickly," Finland didn't want the child to run away from them again, or else get scarred for life by his 'husbands' scary appearance. He finally got outside the small summer home and into the brisk (by Scandinavian standards anyway) winter afternoon.

"Hi! Who're you, mister?" The child boldly asked instead of running away franticly. He – assuming it was a he – had short blond hair, a perfect mix of his and Sweden's own locks, and big blue eyes, so much like Sweden's own at that young age, set on a face structured nearly exactly like Finland's; in short, very adorable. Finland had trouble not scooping him up and declaring himself the child's parent right then and there.

"Y-you're not going to run away again are you?" Finland at last asked, more in disbelief than anything else. He stooped down to the child's height, bending one knee and resting the other on the ground.

"Nope! Lately I've been finding out a lot about who I am, so I'm not so scared anymore!" The child replied cheerfully, a winning smile on his bright young face. 'He' was obviously very proud of himself, but soon enough Finland had to cut to the chase.

"A-ah, I see…Well, I'm Finland o-or Suomi, but you can call me Tino if you'd like. What's your name? And why are you out here all alone? You need to be careful out here, you know! There are very mean people around here that may want to hurt you if you aren't careful!"

"I dunno what my name is, Mr. Finland. I've always just been by myself, 'cept for sometimes this weird kid from WAAY up north comes and sees me, he calls himself Vinland, and he'll call me 'Amerigo' or something, but I don't think that's right. But usually I'm by myself, so I don't really have a name. It gets kinda lonely out here sometimes. That's why I'm always following you and the big guy around. If I follow you guys I can sorta pretend I'm a part of your group, and I'm not as lonely, at least for a while!" Finland's heart was in tatters for the little Nation-ling, he gave into the urge and scooped the child into his arms, intent on keeping this sweet little something close to him forever.

"It's pretty cold out here for someone as small as you, isn't it? Why don't you come inside and I'll fix you, Sweden,- that's the 'big guy' as you described him- and I some tasty Lohikeitto for supper? Does that sound alright,... Alfred?" Finland remembered a name he had heard once before, one of England's many Kings maybe, and decided that would be the child's – defiantly a boy – name in the human world.

"OK!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Time Skip! There probably won't be any semblance of order at all, so one chapter might be when Alfred is small and adorable, the next might be when he's a great big grown up country smoking weed with Canada or messing around with Sealand, then next he might be a rebellious teenager, or whatever. I also might mess with canonical timelines, like in this chapter._

_Also; I don't own Hetalia_

June; 1755

_Tap tap tap. _Three pebbles hit against America's window in the middle of the night. He rolled sleepily out of bed and lumbered over to the window. It had been a good while since Finland and Sweden took him in and became his 'parents', and it showed on nearly every corner of Alfred's body. He went from being a scant little lad of only 3' 8" to a lanky teenager of 5' 7" with tanned skin in place of alabaster. He ran a hand through his hair – still cut in the same style as always, at the insistence of Tino – and opened the window to see his secret lover, England. Instantly, all traces of exhaustion were gone, and he carefully climbed out the window to drop to the ground with the experience of a trained acrobat.

"Hey, Arthur! I haven't seen you in a while. I've missed you so much. How've you been doing, dearest?" Alfred whisper-screamed to England aka Arthur. Of course that meant he was talking normally in the eyes of any sane person. One thing that hadn't changed was Alfred's enthusiasm, much to Arthur's displeasure in times like these.

"Alfred, darling, please be quiet! As much as I am a grand empire, I'm afraid your father could and WOULD kill me for even THINKING of doing anything of our…normal sort to you. And you rather like me being alive, right?" Arthur whisper-screamed – like a normal human – right back to Alfred, caressing the younger male's face and softening his tone for the last sentence before placing his hand over and around Alfred's own, turning and walking toward the forest. As they strolled into the forest, they spoke of trivial things – what that damn France was up to, the political situation in Europe and on North America, and the like. They soon came upon a small meadow with a stream running through it and wildflowers on either slightly rocky bank. A large oak tree stood near the bank with branches reaching over to the other bank. The two of them sat underneath the oak with Alfred sitting half in Arthur's lap, resting his head on the older man's shoulder. Silence reigned for a while before Alfred sat up slightly and voiced a thought that had been plaguing him since they left his parents' property.

"Dad wouldn't hurt you too badly, I think. You're just overreacting again, Arty. He wants me to be happy. And I'm happy when I'm with you, so he and mom shouldn't have many complaints."

"If only it worked like that, my rose blossom. True, your father wants you happy, but WITHOUT me, I'm afraid. He and your 'mother' would much rather you are happy with them and only them, poppet. I'm quite certain it's just a reflex, like turning around when someone pokes your shoulder."

"Well it sucks. Since last time you were here I've been confided to my room most of the day, and Mom is talking about sending me to an abbey to be a monk! I can't stand it there, Arthur! I'd much rather be with you."

"Your father is allied with France in this war. I'll see what I can do."


End file.
